Ingrid Ricks

Despite fighting tooth and nail to save her eyesight, Ingrid Ricks lost her vision to a blinding eye disease last year. And she hated herself for it. She bombarded herself with hate talk and soul destroying stories—until she was challenged to dump her inner bully and treat herself with love. In this powerful, habit-changing talk, Ricks takes audiences on her journey from self hate to self love, and teaches a three step process guaranteed to replace self destructive stories with those that uplift and empower. She also delves into the EQ aspect of self-love, showing a direct correlation between self compassion and love, and an empathy filled work environment that promotes healthy, happy, productive employees. Duration: 60 to 90 minutes

Are you harnessing your adversity or is it harnessing you? Devastated by her sudden inability to see her family’s faces or maneuver the world around her, recently blinded NYT bestselling memoir author and personal storytelling coach Ingrid Ricks realized she had a choice: she could wallow in her grief, loss, fear and despair, or harness her adversity and channel it into something powerful. In this inspirational, action-provoking talk, Ricks takes audiences on her journey from darkness to light. She shares her struggles and the steps she continues to take to flip her adversity on its head and turn it into an asset. Along with detailing the mindset-changing tools she employs every day, Ricks challenges audiences to take a close look at the struggles in their own lives and ensure that they are doing what it takes to turn their adversity into a strength. Duration: 60 to 90 minutes

Memoir Author Ingrid Ricks first discovered the healing power of personal narrative when she wrote her coming of age memoir, Hippie Boy: A Girl’s Story. But it wasn’t until she began helping high school students write and publish the deeply personal stories they needed to tell that she uncovered it’s ability to foster the awareness, understanding and empathy that is so crucial in today’s divisive world. In her inspiring, galvanizing talk, Ricks delves into the life-changing power of personal storytelling — from her own healing and empowerment journey to those of the more than two thousand students she has helped. She also discusses how personal storytelling can be used to flip harmful societal prejudices and attitudes that cause pain and isolation. Then she invites audiences to connect by sharing their own stories. Duration: 1 to 6 hours